High On Fire

Blessed Black Wings (Relapse Records Feb 1st, 2005)

album review

Home | Interviews | Live Pictures | Reviews | News | Tourdates | Message Board | Links | Search | CD Store | Trade Index | Mailing List | Matt Pike, purveyor of Doom, slinger of stoner rock, has gone and done fans of sacredly heavy music a great service. He's practically revived thrash. High On Fire's latest offering, "Blessed Black Wings" still reeks of Pike's signature mix of Motorhead, Celtic Frost, and of course Black Sabbath, but old school metal fans can rejoice at the raw, fast "Kill 'em All" vibe throughout the album. There's still some slow and sludgy stuff, and a mellow instrumental, but overall it's fast, and oh-so-metal. Real, raw, true, from the heart, metal. Pike brilliantly weaves complex metaphors into verses that occasionally rhyme, but more often than not, he just makes you just think they do. "To Cross The Bridge" is just crushing, awesome. If this doesn't make your head cave in, there's something wrong with you. "Devilution" is how metal is supposed to sound. Death to fake metal, all hail Pike. Album Rating: Reviewed by: Wolfie